I was wondering how the rear view mirror works. When you push the long button below it, the mirror turns tinted, when you push it again it goes back to looking like regular glass. Thats the coolest thing I've ever seen. But I cant figure out how it works. If anyone knows, please explain it to me. THANKS

 

All I know is that it has to do with electrochromics, the process of reversibly darkening materials by applying electricity. I think it's a coating on the mirror with parcticles which get darker when electricity is applied.

Btw, already had that on a '89, and that was auto-dimming, so no button to press ...

 

My rear view mirror's stuffed... it's the electrochromic-type, is there any way of fixing this or do I need to have it replaced?

 

An electrochromic mirror uses a layer of liquid crystal sandwiched between two layers of glass. They are made by a company called Gentex. The mirror has a front-looking and rear-looking electric eye, and when it detects very little light coming from the front (i.e. nightime), and a lot coming from the back (headlamp glare), it applies current to the liquid crystal, darkening the mirror, and un-darkening the mirror as needed. Most mirrors have an override button to cancel dimming, and another to turn the dimming back on. I'd check the owner's manual, there should be a reset procedure.
My '96 ES didn't come with an EC mirror, but I purchased one from a salvage yard and am having it installed tomorrow. I think they're a pretty handy thing to have.
http://www.gentex.com The site has a more thorough technical explanation if you're curious.